Talk:Fidel Castro

We are going to give a little something, a few little years more, to socialism, because socialism is defunct. It dies all by itself. The bad thing is that socialism, being a victim of its ... Did I say socialism? -- Fidel Castro

Can this be verified?

No, it can't; because it's bullshit.

This "I am not a communist and neither is the revolutionary movement" can't be verified either.

If you were to ask me if I preferred a world war to capitalism for another 20 years, I would undoubtedly have to say that I would prefer capitalism to survive another 20 years. No longer than that. Just 20 years. [laughter] I exchange it for peace. If I am assured there will be peace, world peace, that is more important because the dead cannot enjoy socialism. A mankind that does not exist cannot construct socialism. I can shuffle around and try to balance things and say: Let us yield a bit; let us grant socialism a few more years. Socialism is so obsolete; it is dying by itself. [crowd rumbles] The trouble is that socialism is the victim of capitalism. Did I say socialism? [crowd rumbles] I assure you on my honor this was not a mental slip. This was a slip of the tongue; do not forget that. [laughter, applause]

Published sources should be provided before moving these back into the article

On what moral grounds can the rulers of a nation in which millionaires and beggars exist; Indians are exterminated; Blacks are discriminated against; women are prostituted; and huge numbers of Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and other Latin Americans are scorned, exploited, and humiliated, speak of human rights? How can the representatives of a capitalist and imperialist society based on the exploitation of man by man, combined with egoism, individualism, and a complete lack of human solidarity, do this? How can those that train and provide military supplies to the bloodiest, most reactionary, and most corrupt governments in the world, such as those of Somoza, Pinochet, Stroessner, the guerrillas in Uruguay, Mobutu, and the shah of Iran, just to name a few, mouth this slogan? How can the leaders of a state whose intelligence agencies organized assassination attempts against the leaders of other countries and whose armies dropped explosives in Vietnam equivalent to hundreds of atom bombs, such as those that exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and who murdered millions of Vietnamese without even deigning to apologize to the country or pay indemnity for the lives lost – the leaders of a state that has traditionally intervened in Latin America, subjects the people of this part of the world to its exploiting yoke, and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of children every year due to illness and starvation – how can they speak of human rights? In short, how can the imperialist government that forcibly maintains a military base in our territory and subjects our people to a criminal economic blockade speak of human rights?

a similar but not identical statement is sourced in the article

I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.

I would not vote for the mayor. It's not just because he didn't invite me to dinner, but because on my way into town from the airport there were such enormous potholes.

If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism.

In the Third World, there are 1.3 billion poor people. In other words, one out of every three inhabitants lives in poverty.

I reiterate that none of the world’s problems, not even terrorism, can be solved with the use of force, and every act of force, every imprudent action that entails the use of force anywhere, is going to seriously aggravate the world problems.

bears similarity to Aesop's "Persuasion is often more effectual than force."

More than 820 million people in the world suffer from hunger; and 790 million of them live in the Third World.

The Cuban people refuse to be forced into consumerism, and for that we are the most democratic nation on the planet!

The revenues of Cuban state-run companies are used exclusively for the benefit of the people, to whom they belong.

Perseverance will give us our victory.

If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, then I would win the gold medal.

Long live the Cuban Revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro... Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, freedom, and justice. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of a vicious imperialist campaign designed to destroy the advances of the Cuban revolution. We too want to control our destiny... There can be no surrender. It is a case of freedom or death. The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people. - Nelson Mandela